Can you guess how long it takes the average person to buy a house?

Published: 26/04/2017

How long does it take the average person to buy a house?

Just 27 minutes is just long it takes the average buyer to make a decision to a buy a property after viewing it. That’s less time than it takes, on average, for a person to purchase a new car or piece of furniture!

And, for a quarter of buyers, it takes just 10 minutes to make an offer.

The speediest buyers are those in the Midlands, taking just 26 minutes to decide on their property purchase. The slowest, in the East of England, take, on average, 32 minutes.

The research from Zoopla shows that buyers take three times longer selecting their sofa (88 minutes), and twice as long deliberating over a home appliance (59 minutes), as they do choosing a new home.

The survey of more than 2,000 buyers found that more than half put in an offer on the same day they viewed the property.

Around 45 per cent admitted that they knew they wanted to make an offer the minute they walked through the door.

Emma Coffey, property guru at Goldsmith Williams Solicitors, comments:

“I’m sure no one would dispute the fact that sometimes you ‘just know’. This is especially so when buying your dream home!

“However, I would advise buyers, especially those buying a home for the first time, to make sure they properly research the market before making any decisions. It’s important to go into viewings with prior knowledge and absolutely imperative before making an offer.

“Once you make a decision, enlisting the assistance of an experienced property solicitor is the best thing you can do to ensure the often stressful process of buying a property goes as smoothly as possible.”

The average time buyers spend inside a property before making an offer:

East Midlands – 25.9

East of England – 31.8

London – 27.0

North East England – 27.1

North West England – 27.0

Scotland – 26.2

South East England – 26.0

South West England – 26.2

Wales – 26.8

West Midlands – 29.7

Yorkshire and The Humber– 27.5

Content correct at time of publication.